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Has anyone seen a restamped vin derivative tag, mine 1972 oldsmobile cutlass supreme is stamped upside down and only has 4 digits. They are 3605, I was thinking maybe a old marine block, no clue about it. Any ideas on why 4 digits and upside down
I don't believe the factory stamped those numbers.
The Oldsmobile factory didn't stamp those, the boat manufacturer did. Marine engines, like service replacement engines, were blank when shipped. As a result, there is no standard coding, the way there is for the VIN derivative.
I know for a fact that the factory didn't stamp these numbers. Could be a non-automotive engine (marine or industrial) or it could be a replacement block with some sort of installer's code.
And there were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of non-automotive engines employed in various industries. Example: We employed either the Buick 401 engines or the Chevrolet 454 engines on the various AG-30 start carts to fire up both J58 engines on the SR-71. We also employed them to heat up the 50 gallon metal oil drums to reduce viscosity of the oil allowing the engine shops to fill oil reservoirs.
And there were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of non-automotive engines employed in various industries. Example: We employed either the Buick 401 engines or the Chevrolet 454 engines on the various AG-30 start carts to fire up both J58 engines on the SR-71. We also employed them to heat up the 50 gallon metal oil drums to reduce viscosity of the oil allowing the engine shops to fill oil reservoirs.
Interesting that you worked on SR-71's . I was an F-4 mechanic myself .
I remember the first time I saw an SR-71 . It was in the early seventies at Udorn Thailand .
The plane had been on a spy mission over China . There was a major malfunction , and they needed to get it on the ground ASAP .
They landed under emergency at Udorn , and hustled it into the hanger . Word quickly spread across the flight line , and several of us went there to see it .
When we got there , there were several Thai Airmen also there . One of them asked me what it was .
Well ....... I couldn't really tell him the truth . That it was a super secret US spy plane . So I told them " it's a space ship " Little green men come out ."
Then we all walked away from them , trying not to snicker .
They flew a team from California in there and got it fixed and flew it out a few days later .
Interesting that you worked on SR-71's . I was an F-4 mechanic myself .
I remember the first time I saw an SR-71 . It was in the early seventies at Udorn Thailand .
The plane had been on a spy mission over China . There was a major malfunction , and they needed to get it on the ground ASAP .
They landed under emergency at Udorn , and hustled it into the hanger . Word quickly spread across the flight line , and several of us went there to see it .
When we got there , there were several Thai Airmen also there . One of them asked me what it was .
Well ....... I couldn't really tell him the truth . That it was a super secret US spy plane . So I told them " it's a space ship " Little green men come out ."
Then we all walked away from them , trying not to snicker .
They flew a team from California in there and got it fixed and flew it out a few days later .
A space ship w/ little green men...nice one.
To put things in perspective. During my active duty (early-to-mid-70s) w/ USAF I was stationed @ Norton AFB & assigned to IG OSI headquarters w/ a TS SCI clearance. At that time Norton AFB was a MAC base with some of the largest Major & Minor Isocronal inspection facilities (hangars) in existence (i.e. C-141, C-5A, SR-71). While Norton AFB was a MAC base, I was assigned to TAC (via IG OSI). We maintained one of the largest libraries of manufacturer technical manuals in the USAF for those aircraft specifically. Essentially, this meant we maintained the entire Lockheed SR-71 technical manual library - I spent inordinate amounts of time reading design engineer manuals. Obviously for good reason - Major & Minor Isocronal inspections. I was not assigned specifically to the SR-71 - those are highly specialized members and each member is assigned to one very specific SR-71. I was assigned to any two-engine jet aircraft in the USAF TAC command with wheels on-the-ground during duration @ Norton AFB. My role? Primary, Secondary & Tertiary flight control systems maintenance, diagnostics & air worthiness (along with several other ancillary roles). Therefore, when a Blackbird was on the ground @ Norton it fell under TAC command and I was under TAC command. Aside from reasons the aircraft was on the ground, it's entire existence on the ground was assigned to our team which managed it's every movement. It was checked in with our team and released by our team. Therefore, when it came time to fire up those monster J58 engines, it became our responsibility to manage, move & assist each SR-71 flight team; albeit, my familiarity w/ the AG-30 start carts.
